Hello and welcome to the Israel-Gaza war live blog. We start with news that a Hamas leader in the West Bank has died in Israeli custody after a deterioration in his health condition, a Palestinian governmental body has said. Mustafa Muhammad Abu Ara, 63, died after being transferred to a hospital from the Ramon jail in southern Israel, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees Affairs said in a statement.
“Before his arrest, he was suffering from serious health problems and needed intensive medical follow-up. However, from the moment of his arrest, Sheikh Abu Ara, like all prisoners, has faced unprecedented crimes ... since the beginning of the war of extermination.” Abu Ara, who was arrested in October last year, was subjected to torture and deprived of medical treatment, the Palestinian body said. There was no immediate comment from Israel.